


Lady in Blue

by xx_Katastrophe



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, GabeNath Reverse Bang, GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020, Hero!Mayura, Original Akumatized Villain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27818758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xx_Katastrophe/pseuds/xx_Katastrophe
Summary: When Gabriel akumatizes Audrey again, it goes awry and backfires on him. When he, Ladybug and Chat Noir are compromised, Nathalie decides it's time for her to take matters into her own hands.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 40
Kudos: 61
Collections: GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020





	Lady in Blue

“ _Damn it._ ” Gabriel grumbled to himself as he felt his cell phone vibrating in his suit. He set down the stylus he was using, and pulled out the phone to at least see who it was. His nose wrinkled a little in annoyance. It was Audrey Bourgeois. What _possibly_ could she want at this hour? It’s fairly early in the morning still. She knew better than to call his direct line unless it was dire, though he supposed she was still irate with Nathalie’s attitude at the fashion show. As Nathalie was typing something out on her computer, she got a glance of Gabriel’s annoyed and disgusted reaction over the top of her monitor as his phone kept ringing. Her mind hatched a plan. Turning Audrey Bourgeois into Style Queen was the closest he had gotten to getting the miraculous thus far. Chat Noir never showed up, and Ladybug was all alone. Though he’d have to be more careful, so as not to put Adrien in harm’s way like the last time. Nathalie believes they have another shot at this… if he doesn’t answer that phone. She saw him about to answer and she quickly stood from her desk. She briskly walked over to him.

“Sir, wait,” She blurted out. 

He put his arm down. “What is it, Nathalie?” 

“I don’t think you should answer that.” 

He set his phone in his pocket. “...Why not?”

“I believe you can akumatize Audrey again, and be successful in obtaining the miraculous, sir. But you can’t answer any calls she makes to you. That will get her angry enough and put the plan into action.” 

Gabriel tapped his chin. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad idea- but he’d have to strategize differently. So, Style Queen would not be coming back… however, Audrey’s potential will not go to waste, because he had the perfect idea. His phone began to ring again, and when he pulled out his phone, he hit the decline button, to speed up the process. “You may be onto something… but I’m going to be more careful this time. I can’t risk another close call with Adrien like last time. No more tacky gold glitter statues… but I believe I have another idea.” 

“And that is…?” 

“You’ll see.” He replied simply, as another call came in from Audrey. After waiting a few moments, he pressed decline once more. From the purple brooch pinned to his shirt and nestled under his ascot, he could feel pure rage rising. That had to have been Audrey- because the intensity of the emotion he was feeling was just as strong this time around as it was the first time. “It’s time now. I’ll see you in a bit.” 

Nathalie nodded, as she watched him walk over to the large painting of Emilie, and press his fingers into the appropriate notches. As the platform began its descent, he put his arms behind his back, just as he normally stands. On the way down, Nooroo flew out from beneath his tie, and floated beside him. 

“Master, are you sure this is a good idea?” He posed, though the kwami was met with a glare from Gabriel. 

“Don’t you dare question me and my plans… Of course this is a good idea.” 

“But what about Adrien? Last time he--”

“He’ll be fine. As I’ve said before, Style Queen won’t be making a comeback… Instead I’ll be bringing someone new to the field, and I’m sure this time I’ll win. It’s an ingenious idea.” Gabriel replied. The platform came to a stop, and he stepped off. He headed into the lair, where the butterflies greeted him, clearing the way as he walked towards the center of the vast, empty and dark room. “Nooroo, dark wings rise!” He called, and in a flash of light, he was now Hawkmoth. 

The large, rose window slowly opened letting in the early morning sunlight into the dark room. The butterflies scattered as the light flooded in, and Hawk Moth began his diatribe. “Ah, the rage of a woman being ignored by a long time friend and business partner… the perfect host for my akuma…” He said, as he held out his palm, and a butterfly landed, he closed it in, and channeled negative energy into it. The center of the window opened, and he set his akuma free. “Fly away my little akuma, and evilize her!” The akuma took flight, flying out through the center of the rose. It began its trek to find its host. 

* * *

“I cannot _believe_ Gabriel Agreste! He said he would always answer my calls, so why didn’t he?!” She raged, nearly throwing her cell phone across the hotel lobby, as her husband made an attempt to calm her down. “I swear, that man is so ungrateful! If it weren’t for me, he would never be as big as he is!” She was too busy yelling to notice through the front door of Le Grand Paris, the signature black and purple butterfly flying towards her like an ant to honey. Mayor Bourgeois saw it, and tried to warn her, but it was too late. The akuma landed itself on her phone screen, its energy consuming the device. Audrey’s angry ranting stopped, as another overtook her thoughts. 

_“Operator, I am Hawk Moth. Your calls have been ignored too many times by that Gabriel Agreste, so I’m giving you the power of getting everyone to listen to you with a simple call. In return, I want you to bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous.”_

“Gladly, Hawk Moth…” Audrey replied, her body being overrun and consumed by the energy carried in the akuma. Mayor Bourgeois took cover behind the reception desk, peering over the edge. The black and purple energy wore off, and revealed Operator’s new look- donning black lace-up combat boots with matching gloves. Her long skirt and long, buttoned coat were a dark purple, and on the left breast, was a black, embroidered butterfly, with another one on her sleeve. She came equipped with a golden headset and a matching golden cellphone. She laughed evilly, as she opened the phone app on her cellphone. The normal keypad on the display was gone- instead replaced by just one button- the dial button. She pressed it, and soon, the lobby was filled with the cacophony of cell phone ringtones. Operator looked around the room, frustrated that no one was answering her call. 

“You better answer, or you’ll be sorry!” She hollered, using the volume control. It only amplified the cacophony further, and then the sound of silence as the people in the lobby answered, only in a plea to get the noise to stop. She looked around seeing her husband, employees, and a stray guest rise to their feet, holding their cellphones to their ears. “Hello, this is your Operator, and I order you to follow me and my every move and command!” She bellowed, voice booming through the lobby. The small army of approximately a dozen people she had just recruited all gathered behind her. She began to lead a march, kicking the glass door of Le Grand Paris down, the glass shattering into millions of pieces as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. She held up her phone again, as she looked around. Why was everyone running from her already? She hadn’t even done anything. She fiddled with her golden headset, as she placed another call. She couldn’t hear the satisfying sounds of ringers, but she could hear the voices of confused Parisians through her headset as they answered her call. 

“The Operator requests a word with you all… meet her at the Eiffel Tower for your next round of orders.” She grinned, before spinning around on her heel to face her army. “You! Get calling! The more the merrier, after all… just be sure to put them through to me, my subjects…” As they continued their march to the Eiffel Tower, more and more citizens emerged from the nearby homes, businesses and even Collège François Dupont. They filed behind The Operator, watching as her initial crew were still sending out calls to the remaining Parisians. Once they arrived at Champ de Mars, there were a good hundred people, with more expected to come. She was impressed, and not even Gabriel Agreste would be able to stand up the hundreds here who have paid attention to her. He wouldn’t know what was coming.

* * *

While Gabriel was off executing his mastermind plan, Nathalie carried on business as usual from her desk. While responding to an email, she was surprised to see him return so quickly. In fact, she stopped her typing, and peered around the large monitor to him. “Back already? Did something go wrong?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

He stepped up to his monitor again. “Oh no, nothing went wrong… Everything went according to plan, actually.” 

“Okay, so then why did you come back?”   
  
“Well, according to my schedule that you’ve so kindly made… I have a lot of work to do. I’m just using the most of my time.” He shrugged, as he pulled up the art program on his large, touch screen monitor. He grabbed his stylus from its holster, and began to draw, and Nathalie turned her attention back to reading the documents she had on her screen. She was currently drafting a contract agreement between a new distributor and Gabriel Brand. After she was done listing the parameters she and Gabriel had agreed on earlier, she emailed the list of parameters to the company lawyer so he can draft the contact in a legal, concise and official way. Once she confirmed that her email had been sent, she pushed back her chair, and decided it was time to obtain a second cup of coffee and use the bathroom. 

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Nathalie said simply, picking up her empty coffee cup and exiting the atelier. Gabriel simply turned his attention back to his work, the fact there was a raging akuma victim out there who was out for him nearly slipping his mind. He was only reminded when he began to hear a chorus of cell phone ringers through his mansion, and the distant sounds of an angry mob approaching. He quickly started to activate the security system. 

* * *

As The Operator and her large, newly-recruited army of cellphone-armed citizens approached the Agreste mansion, they saw the security system being activated already. The Operator scoffed, “Tch, pathetic. Alright my fellow frontliners… step right up and get your cameras ready!” She ordered. Her main frontline, consisting of her husband, daughter, Butler Jean, and some other employees of Le Grand Paris stepped forward. They stretched their group from one end of the wall to the other. From her phone, she activated the camera application. “Ready everyone? One… two… three!” From the flash on the phone, several white, destructive beams of light struck the large, stone wall. It got blasted in the direct contact, causing the rest of it to crumble to the ground. 

“I order you to go and find Gabriel Agreste, and bring him to me! Whoever brings me him first gets to be my second in command.” She ordered them, pointing towards the entrance of the mansion. The army charged forward, and up the stairs, desperately trying to push, break, and force themselves inside. They weren’t having much luck, until Chloe had an idea. She aimed her cellphone at the double doors, and fired her flash laser, piercing a hole through the wood. The others seemed to follow suit, until the doors were weakened enough to be broken down. The Operator leaned against the wrought iron gate bars as it and the archway still remained intact. She gave herself a satisfied smirk. Everything was going to plan. 

* * *

The sound of lasers firing off, feet kicking, and stone crumbling accompanied with the loud, angry mob getting louder set off an alarm in Gabriel. He knew he was in trouble now. It was apparent he underestimated the strength of Audrey’s wrath, and her determination to get whatever she wanted. When the front door finally broke down, he figured he may try to hide himself, though he was more worried for Nathalie. She was out there, with those mind-controlled savages. Who knows what they’re capable of, considering how Audrey seemingly has it out for his assistant. His eyes darted around the room, looking for a place to take cover. Unfortunately, due to his long, gangly proportions and lack of large pieces of decor in the atelier, there weren’t many options. The only place he could possibly think of was ducking for cover behind Nathalie’s desk. He quickly dashed over, dropped to his knees, and crawled under the desk. As he got himself situated with his back to the wall, the office door was kicked in. It got kicked right off the hinges, the heavy slab shattering the glass on Nathalie’s desk. 

The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up as he stood perfectly still. The small subsection of the army were frantically searching, tossing aside mannequins. As someone he couldn’t quite recognize was trying to remove the giant painting of his wife and secret access to his lair, Chloe whipped her head around and yelled, “I found him, Daddy! He’s over there!”

As she aggressively pointed at him, Gabriel felt like a deer in headlights as the other individuals turned their heads toward him. Not showing any fear, he stood up and tried to make a swift exit. His exit was a failure, however, as Mayor Bourgeois sent a signal from his phone, and towards Gabriel, shackling his ankles and wrists together with some sort of electrically charged field. As he tried to free himself, he only got electrocuted. He was picked up with little effort by the Mayor and his daughter, as well as their butler and some other insignificant people he didn’t recognize. Gabriel had no choice but to let them carry him off. Chloe had informed the rest of the army that they had captured their person of interest, and the remaining people flocked into the foyer. They cheered victoriously, as they marched out of the mansion. The Operator was pleased at how quickly they were able to fulfil her demands. She smiled in satisfaction. 

“Good work my fellow subjects… Now, we know that Ladybug and Chat Noir are going to come and stop me… and your job now is to protect me and fight them off.” She smirked, as Gabriel was presented to her. “As for you, Gabriel… hmm… well, I’ll figure out something with you. Come along, everyone…” She turned her back towards her army as she led them away from the Agreste Mansion, with Gabriel in tow. As much as he hated that rotten cat and pesky little girl, he was hoping that they may save him from Audrey. He wasn’t sure what she had in mind, but knew that it couldn’t be good.

* * *

As Nathalie emerged from the kitchen with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in her hand, but as soon as she turned the corner to cut through the foyer, her heart stopped momentarily as she lost the grip on the cup. All she saw were the front doors were completely obliterated. The minimalist decor had also been trampled upon too- she swore a herd of elephants came through. Her first thought was Gabriel- the atelier doors were gone. She ran across the foyer, minding her spilled coffee and the broken bits of ceramic on the way. She called for him, “Sir? Mister Agreste,” but when she poked her head through the walkway, she noticed that he was gone, and the office was a mess. Her desk was shattered, the mannequins were tossed aside, and some of the pictures were torn down. She only assumed someone caught him while she was gone. She thought quickly, and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. In a hurry, she pulled up the live news app. Well, at least the news coverage explained where her boss had gone. 

“This is Nadja Chamak, and I’m live from the Eiffel Tower, where we got word that famed fashion designer Gabriel Agreste is being held hostage.” The camera footage cut to the top of the Eiffel Tower, where Gabriel was currently being suspended over the edge of the observation deck. He was contained in some sort of magically generated cage, changed above by chains, magically generated in the same matter. Nathalie swore she hadn’t seen him looking so terrified- he was curled up on the bottom of the cage, covering his eyes with his hands. She could see Ladybug and Chat Noir were on the scene, but it seemed like they were struggling to right off the sheer number of people coming for them. 

As the camera feed cut back to Nadja, the news anchor answered her phone, only to be put under the control of the Operator. The news anchor stared blankly at the camera, her iris and pupil-less eyes staring at the camera. “If you haven’t already… answer the phone for your Operator. And re--” She was cut off, by the sound of her cell phone ringing. The number was unfamiliar to her- so she chose not to answer it. The only problem was that her phone kept ringing nonstop, and seemed to be increasing in volume, though perhaps that was only in her head. 

“I have to do something… I can’t leave Gabriel like that.” Nathalie mumbled to herself. How on earth was she going to be able to help like this? She’s certainly no superhero and can’t scale a grand structure like the Eiffel Tower in seconds, or even have the agility and strength to pull off that feat. Sure, she could take on the mass swarms of mind controlled people, but that was really all she could do. Or, maybe she can become a superhero. She had just recalled that Gabriel kept a second miraculous, the peacock, in the wall safe; the one thing that had remained untouched in the whole raid. He explicitly told her more than once to never use the peacock miraculous, though he had never fully explained why. She hadn’t thought to question him either, so she left the matter alone. However, she was sure he could forgive her for her disobedience this one time. She ignored her phone and tucked it into her blazer, as she made her way over to the safe, which had been exposed after the painting covering it was removed and thrown to the ground. 

She had to think for a moment, but she remembered the combination. He had told her the combination several years ago, just in case he had ever forgotten. Ironically, she had forgotten it herself, until it was time for her to remember. Her hand went to the dial, as she turned it to the specific numbers. The safe unlocked itself with a click, and she pulled the door open. Her eyes scanned the contents of his safe- an old drawing Adrien did when he was little, some random books. Her eyes fell upon the middle self, and next to Emilie’s portrait was the peacock miraculous. There was a certain sadness Nathalie felt when she saw Emilie’s portrait. 

Nathalie was cognizant of the fact that this miraculous is what caused Emilie’s affliction, but was unsure of how. She had noticed that there were some cracks along the back of the brooch, but didn’t pay much mind to it- just assuming it was some normal wear and tear that a jewel of its age would have suffered at this point. Before she did anything, she took her cellphone, and threw it into the safe, and closed the door. She couldn’t stand listening to it ring anymore. Now, she carefully affixed the brooch to her sweater, and from the brooch flew a little peacock-like creature. 

“Wheeeeee!” She exclaimed, as she zipped around Nathalie’s head. “Wait, who are you? You’re not Miss Emilie.” 

“No, I’m not Miss Emilie,” Nathalie said, trying to recover from the dizziness due to her eyes tracking the kwami’s motions. “I’m Nathalie.” 

“Oh boy, a new friend! It’s nice to meet you, Miss Nathalie! I’m Duusu and we’re going to be the bestest of friends!” Duusu said, as she pressed herself to Nathalie’s cheek and nuzzled her. 

Nathalie found this kwami very endearing, yet also annoying and far too energetic for her taste. “Yes yes, it’s nice to meet you and all, but there’s kind of a big problem.” 

“Oh no! What’s wrong?!” 

“An army of mind-controlled people broke in, and made off with Gabriel. Now he’s being kept in some sort of weird cage and is suspended over the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug and Chat Noir seem to be having troubles staving off the army.” 

“That’s terrible, Miss Nathalie! What are you going to do?! That must be so scary for Mister Gabriel...” 

“I’m going to go save him, that’s what.” 

“Aw, you’re going to go save your prince! How romantic!” The kwami gushed. 

The woman felt her face flush. “No, there’s nothing romantic about this. I am doing this because he’s my boss, and I’m a good, loyal employee. I don’t want to see him hurt. Nothing more.” 

“Are you sureeee? You’re blushing!” 

Nathalie curtly sighed, “Quiet you. I came to you to get help, not to be teased by--” 

“But I’m the kwami of emotion! I know all of your emotions, even if you deny it.” 

“Whatever… how do I transform?”

“Just say, ‘Duusu, spread my feathers’!” 

Nathalie nodded, “Duusu, spread my feathers!” The kwami flew into the brooch, charging it as she felt herself take on a new form. Her normally long hair had been cut shorter, her business suit swapped out for a navy blue high-low dress with fuzzy cuffs. Even her heels had been replaced with heeled combat boots. In her hand was a feathered fan. She began her trip to the Eiffel Tower, impressed with how fast she could run, even in these heeled boots. She felt like she could take on the world- she couldn’t possibly understand why Gabriel would forbid her to use this.

* * *

The Operator watched over her army battling the famous superhero duo from her large, golden chair. She was pleased- it seemed like they were truly struggling to fight off the hundreds of people. She turned her chair around and glared at some of her fellow subjects, standing idly behind her. “You. Go down there and fight! And don’t come back until you get me Ladybug and Chat Noir! Go, go go!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. They nodded, and rushed to the elevator. Once their descent was done, they exited, and charged towards Ladybug and Chat Noir.

As Chat Noir spun his baton, knocking people out of the way, he turned his head to Ladybug, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep them off- there’s just too many of them… Why don’t you go to the guardian and get Rena Rouge, Carapace or Queen Bee or someone?” 

Ladybug swiftly kicked a man away from her, as she began to spin her yoyo above her head. She scanned the crowd- and unfortunately, Alya, Nino, and Chloe had fallen victim to this akuma. “...I don’t think that’s going to work this time…” 

“Why,” he fended off some of the people who were trying to grab at him feverishly. “Why not?” 

“If I leave, you’re going to get captured and enslaved and we’re going to lose. We’re just going to have to fend them off ourselves.” 

Chat wasn’t entirely sure if he liked this plan- but no matter how much he didn’t like it, Ladybug’s plans always worked in the end. People were coming at them, and one of them looked familiar. He was horrified to see that Nathalie had gotten caught up in the akuma raid- but he’s not at all surprised, but he couldn’t bring himself to hit her. Nathalie had grabbed his wrists. “You’re coming with me, kitty.” Nathalie said, voice sounding hollow. Chat Noir held tightly onto his baton, trying to break free, but to no avail. He was being escorted off by one group of people. 

“Chat Noir, no!” Ladybug exclaimed, as she was surrounded, and eventually captured. The heroes had their ankles zapped, rendering them unable to move. As they were being carried away… Ladybug hatched a plan. Chat Noir looked back at her. 

Though he couldn’t see her too well, he whispered, “M’lady, now what are we going to do? We’re in a real cat-astrophe.” He snickered silently, as he watched her roll her eyes. 

Ladybug took a moment to think. A lightbulb went off as she looked at Chat, “Let them lock us up.” She whispered back. 

“What! Are you out of your mind?!” 

“Just trust me.” 

Chat Noir nods, as they were carried up to the Eiffel Tower. Once they made it there, they finally met the mastermind behind this all. The Operator twirled around in her chair, and grinned. “Good, good… now, you,” She pointed to the people who were holding the superheroes. “Lock ‘em up.” They nodded, as they broke away from the group. Adjacent to the railing where Gabriel was kept, Ladybug and Chat Noir were placed down on the ground. Using their cellphones, they aimed, and pressed the button on their screen. This caused a magically generated cage to trap them. Gabriel looked on, and had a sense of dread. The two who he couldn’t stand, yet wanted to save him, were locked up alongside him. Nathalie was mind controlled with a good majority of Paris, it seems. 

“I really messed up this time. Perhaps akumatizing Audrey is not a very good idea...” He muttered to himself, as he tried not to look down at the dizzying height at which he remained suspended at. He was almost sure he was going to die up here- whether at Audrey’s command, or starvation and dehydration for being stuck up here for so long. He sat up, looking towards the crowd. He got a surprise, however, when Nathalie, seemingly under mind control, came over to the railing. It seemed like she was trying to help him, trying to reach and free him. However, he was too high up for her to reach. The Operator, however, was not fond of this. 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” She snarled. Nathalie turned around and looked at her- but suddenly faded away. All that was left was a feather. Gabriel and Ladybug’s eyes widened. That wasn’t Nathalie- that was the work of the peacock miraculous. Ladybug leaned closer to Char Noir. 

“That woman… I think that’s Mister Agreste’s assistant- she wasn’t real. That was a sentimonster…” 

“A what?” 

“A sentimonster-- made by the peacock miraculous! There’s another person with a miraculous…” 

The peacock miraculous holder soon stepped from behind an iron beam, opposite of Ladybug and Chat Noir, with the Operator and her army between them. The ringleader glared at the new hero. “And who are you supposed to be?” 

“I am Mayura. I’m going to ask you nicely to let Gabriel Agreste go.” 

The Operator pondered her choices- she could let him go, but then what was the point? She then got an idea. “Hmm… okay. But you, and your little friends,” she pointed, “must surrender your miraculous to me!” 

“Tch. No way, lady.” Mayura scoffed, as she spread her fan. “Fight me properly, and don’t use your little minions.” 

“Alright. MINIONS! Make sure Ladybug and Chat Noir don’t escape!” The Operator commanded, as she charged towards Mayura. The women began to fight, the villain firing blasts from her cellphone, and the hero dodging with skill and grace. The battle was enough to distract the enemies, so that Ladybug can cast her lucky charm. Once she casted it, a red and black polka dotted magnet materialized. 

“A magnet? There’s a lot I can do with this…” Ladybug looked around. It was a bit difficult, since there was a crowd of people surrounding them, though with their backs turned to them. She looked around the observation deck, and then to Chat and herself. In her vision, she could see her yoyo and Chat’s baton stand out. “Kitty, give me your stick.” 

“What? Why?”

“Just do it… “ Ladybug sighed. He nodded and handed it over. She extended it, and tied one end of her yoyo to the end, and tied the magnet to the other end of the yoyo. With her new fishing pole-like contraption, She stepped close to the bars of their cage. The magnet caused the magical jail cell to dissipate. She raised her arms above her head, and cast her shot. The yoyo-magnet combo soard over the minions, and towards Mayura, who received the catch well. She hovered the magnet over the phone. As a result, the two connected with a strong force. The Operator struggled, trying to pull her phone away but only to fail. Mayura stepped on her back, as Ladybug tried to reel in the catch. Chat Noir was assisting, grabbing on his baton and pulling hard alongside her. 

The Operator’s grip was loosening, as she looked at her arm. “What are you doing?! Don't just stand there, HELP ME!” She growled. As it turns out, the magnet cut off the phone’s power, rendering any commands useless. Eventually, she lost her grip, allowing the superheroes to reel in the phone. Chat Noir called his cataclysm, and touched the phone. As it turned to dust, a dark butterfly emerged from the ashes. As Ladybug captured the butterfly in her yoyo, and began the purifying process, Mayura forgot about one last person she had to free. As the magical cage disintegrated, Gabriel began to fall. He was terrified, almost positive this was the end. Mayura rapidly began her descent down the tower, hoping to beat him to the bottom. He covered his eyes, bracing himself for impact. When he stopped, and uncovered his eyes, he looked to see that the new hero had caught him in her arms. She looked down at him. 

“Don’t worry sir, I got you.” Mayura said, with a gentle smile. Gabriel knew immediately who that was- the voice, that smile, and those eyes was a dead giveaway. He suddenly felt very embarrassed, as she began to run back to the Agreste mansion, leaving the more famous heroes to clean up the mess he caused. He was clinging to her and trying to hide the fact that he was even more embarrassed. As they approached the Agreste mansion, which was in a much better state than they had left it, Mayura cleared the stone wall with ease. Approaching the front door, she sets him down, and opens the door for him. He looked away from her as he entered, and went to open the atelier door for her. She closed the front door behind her, and ran into the room with him. He closed the door. 

Mayura put her hand over her brooch. “Duusu, fall my feathers.” Her transformation fell, and she returned back to Nathalie. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she thought nothing of it. It was her first time using a miraculous, maybe it was just her body getting used to it. 

  
Gabriel gaped at her in amazement- Nathalie was certainly an incredible miraculous user… especially with the peacock. However, he was worried how the broken state of it would affect her. Finally, he spoke up. “Nathalie, thank you… but why did you do that?” He asked, still not totally over his embarrassment. 

“I couldn’t leave you there, sir. I had no choice but to save you.” 

“But Ladybug and Chat Noir--” 

“--were really struggling. They needed help and you needed help.” She unpinned the brooch from her sweater, and held it in her hand. “I don’t think akumatizing Mrs. Bourgeois is a good idea...” 

“I’m starting to think that it really isn’t either… Even if she is an easy target” He replied, laughing dryly. She joined in, but only for a few seconds. She began to cough, which turned violent. She fell to her knees. He stopped laughing, as he quickly got down on his knees with her. He was afraid of this- this was the first sign of sickness due to the use of a broken miraculous. “Nathalie, are you okay?” 

“I’m... fine.” She replied, smiling at him once more. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t feeling too well at all. He helped her to her feet, as he delicately removed the peacock miraculous to put it back in the safe. She watched, as she returned to her desk. She began feeling better once she sat down and could relax. 

The pair returned to work- an akuma gone awry doesn’t mean the business and work goes away afterwards. While they returned to their normal lives, Gabriel began to think. Nathalie certainly put up an impressive display with the miraculous, despite it being broken. She was graceful in combat, and used her ability well; she certainly had him fooled. His praise was short-lived, as she began to cough at her desk. He was worried that she would be plagued with the same affliction as Emilie at this rate. Perhaps there was a way she could help without having to use a miraculous… that’s if she even wanted to help him. He allowed himself to sit with his thoughts for sometime. After a few hours of thinking, he finally brought himself to proposition her. 

“Nathalie, may I ask you a question?” 

She moved her chair so that she could make direct eye contact from her desk. “Yes sir?” '

“First off, I just would like to say that you were incredible when you were using the peacock miraculous, especially considering that it’s broken.” 

“Thank you…” she smiled, enjoying the appreciation from him while paying no mind to the bit where he said it was broken, “but what was your question?” 

“Well, my question was, would you be interested in helping me? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

She was surprised- she had only used the miraculous once. She didn’t think she was quite good enough to be using it alongside him. However, she realized that she was willing to do anything for him. He’s been through so much pain and heartache, and she wants to help him be happy again. If that means getting his wife back with the miraculous, then so be it. His praise, gratitude and happiness was enough of a repayment. She simply replied, “I’m willing to help you, sir, broken miraculous or not. I know how much you want this, and if I can help you with that, then I want to. I will always be here for you, no matter what.”

He smiled at her. Nathalie truly was something special- what ever would he do without someone like her in his life? At this point, he wasn’t sure. She’s been the primary person keeping him together in such a tough time. “Thank you, Nathalie… you’re amazing. I mean that.” There were slight traces of guilt mixed in with his gratitude. 

“It’s no trouble at all, sir.” She replied, coughing for a second after she spoke. She closed her eyes momentarily to let the dizziness wash over her, and then promptly returned to work. He did the same, though his mind was more or less geared towards coming up with his next scheme. With two of them, his chances of success were increased now. After all, her mind produced some wonderful ideas- even if they don’t go according to plan. While he was working, he kept going about ideas on how he can utilize Nathalie, without having her use the peacock miraculous, if at all possible. Clearly, he had forgotten what his own miraculous could do- make villains, or allies, though his butterflies. His mind had already come up with the perfect plan… but he decided to wait a few days before unveiling it to her- she deserved a few days off from his crazy, evil ideas. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was such a fun story to write and a great challenge to be in! The art that inspired this piece can be found here. https://minussseven.tumblr.com/post/636309983296946176/fic-lady-in-blue-author-xx-katastrophe-ao3


End file.
